On my mind

The air smelled of fresh leaves, growing grass, spring flowers and of His current Companions, whom He had already learnt to recognize one from another. Some were friendlier than the others, but all of them respected Him. White, the bravest female He had ever seen, was in the same Fence with them. Which was good, as it seemed they were going to stay at this place for some time.

Companions were glad about the rest and they just walked within Fence lazily, picking the best blades of grass to chew on. But He was already restless. He gathered his strength back quickly, and Fence was too small and too boring to stay in for so long, even though He liked to be in White´s presence.

Another fragrance, only a little familiar, joined the morning mixture, touched his sensitive smell and made Him observe Humans nearby House curiously. His Master was there, doing that funny thing to his face again, making it all white and then ridiculously bare. He didn´t understand the meaning of that act; Master had to be cold without any fur on his face.

There were also other two Humans, Master´s Friends. One of them probably ate something very hot, as a thin smoke was coming out of his mouth and the other one was even funnier than Master. That Human was doing something weird with his head, making it all yellow, like some flower.

He approached closer, as far as Fence allowed him and laughed to let them know what He thought about such activities.

"You find it funny, Kuro?" a well-known voice spoke.

He didn´t understand the words, except His Name. He knew about the other Human approaching Fence; He could see him along with House and other Humans at the same time, despite paying attention to something else. He was proud of His sight, as He had already found out it was much better than Humans´ little eyes.

It was Master´s Mate, who leant over Fence from the other side, talking to Him: "You already had your hygiene and we need it as well."

He snorted; amused about that Mate was trying to explain those stupid things to Him. Right after that He was flooded with that so sweet scent, which He had noticed a few days ago. White came to Fence too, stretching Her fine head toward Her Master.

"Would you like some free racing, dear?" Mate asked something, which made White nod.

He observed curiously how Mate jumped over Fence and led White away from the other Companions to the opposite side of it. It surprised Him when that moving part was opened for White. He trotted closer, looking at those two questioningly.

"Are you going for a ride?"

It was His Master, who raised a question. Obviously, he was finally done with those crazy things concerning his face and came to check on them.

"No," Mate shook his head negatively. "I´m just letting Ukushi have some healthy exercise."

Both He and Master observed in surprise, when Mate let White go outside Fence freely, without any reins. She leapt a little, and made a circle around Her Master happily. That amused Him again; White was three years old already, but at that moment, She acted as a foal.

"You want too?" Master asked, baring his teeth at Him.

He snorted in disbelief. Did Master mean what it seemed he did?

"Kame, let Kuro go as well," Master waved at his Mate and He stared as Fence opened in front of Him too. White didn´t even run off yet; She just stood nearby, swinging Her long tale, looking at Him defiantly.

Carefully and hesitantly, half-expecting that Master was only joking, He stepped out the borders of Fence. White neighed, daring Him to go after Her. He turned toward Master once again, to make sure if it was really all right.

Master and his Mate were both leaning over closed Fence now, exposing their small teeth widely, which was a sufficient assurance for Him. He raised His front legs joyfully and in pure excitement from the sudden freedom, He dashed after White. He was going to enjoy this fully, until their Masters would need them back.

*

When those two started the day with a rather persistent cleaning procedure, Cullen couldn´t help but comment their efforts mockingly. Who needed a shave or even bleached hair in the middle of the wild mountains? He would not be surprised about Leo, who could be doing the same because of Jane, but their young leader didn´t need to use a sharp razor often, just as Jack and Kamenashi, who were so typical hobbledehoys yet. At least Ryo and Nick were normal, and didn´t care about the darkening stubble all over their faces.

Koki countered his jabs with that such an old wolf as him didn´t understand his needs to stick out from the boring crowd. Cullen rather didn´t argue with that crazy dumbass, though it was logical that all of them should rather blend in with the crowd. As for the older Akanishi, he was suspiciously unresponsive, when Cullen wondered aloud, why he bothered with that fuzz on his chin.

Well, it seems I should get used to even more foolish ideas than that, Cullen realized, when he saw what Kamenashi and Akanishi did after that. Even Koki´s jaw dropped, when the white mare and the black stallion made a few errands around the fence with the rest of their, quite confused, horses, before trotting off up the long meadow behind the cottage, while their masters were watching them leaning over the wooden pillars, smiling like idiots.

"Hey! Hey!" Koki yelled, running toward the fence, completely forgetting his hair was still half-covered with that weirdly stinking foam. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?!" he asked pointing in the direction where the two horses disappeared.

"It´s all right," Cullen heard Akanishi´s reply, as the youngster spread over the fence, sunbathing calmly.

"They will be back," Kamenashi assured the half-blonde Rider too.

Koki stared at him, quite speechless for a while.

"Hopefully, also your hair will come back," the older one noted, looking at Koki´s strangely yellow head.

"Shit! Too long!" the Rider rushed back to the sink he had left behind, scratching the stuff from his hair away hastily.

Cullen finished his cigarette and stood up from the block for wood chopping at the corner of their cottage. At least he could do something useful, since his younger companions obviously had their day of crazy ideas. For example, there were still those catches from the hunting before in the cellar and nobody seemed to care if they rotted or not.

But, Cullen smiled for himself a little, it´s good to see those young brats having some fun.

*

Kame watched the cursing Rider a little worried, but since Koki managed to pour the whole sink over his head, he probably didn´t need any help. He also noticed Cullen leaving his smoking spot with a rather unreadable expression, before he returned his attention to the older one.

Jin was turning a blind eye in front of the sun, obviously more amused than worried. After he made sure that Koki was busy with his hair, Kame couldn´t help but raise his hand to touch that face gently. It was really as smooth as it seemed to be.

The dark eyes peeped from behind the eyelids and Kame smiled, caressing Jin´s jaw: "It´s much better now… You were thorny already."

"You minded it?" Jin wondered.

"Not in particular, but… I like you like this more," Kame assumed and retreated from touching him.

"Well, I can still be quite thorny somewhere else…" the older one reminded in a deep voice. "Won´t that bother you?"

"Depends of what kind of stinging are you talking about," Kame narrowed his eyes.

Jin smiled in a way, which revealed in advance that he was about to say something dirty.

"The one which will make you moan my name," the older one stated very quietly.

Kame didn´t react on that for a while; stiffened under Jin´s burning look and his mind occupied with the meaning of that statement. One would have thought that he could get used to that already, but those sudden perverted remarks always increased the tension from suppressed desires between them. And since they had to deal with that situation for quite long already, it was hard to keep own heartbeat steady every time.

"I don´t think I´d complain about that," he said finally.

"Good," Jin gave him a promising smile, which made Kame´s knees tremble.

The loud guffaw interrupted their moment and made them turn toward the cottage again. Both Ryo and Leo were at the back yard, laughing, obviously over Koki who stood there as a frozen statue, looking at himself in the mirror – his washed hair shone like the sun itself.

*

Jane turned away from the window in the upper floor with an amused chuckle. It was heartwarming to witness carefree scenes like those. She really hoped that this casual spending of time would last for longer than for a couple of days.

Still smiling, she observed the result of her efforts to clean up and rearrange the bedrooms. After hearing Koki complaining about the cold barn and hard surface during the whole breakfast, she reconsidered the number of mattresses in the cottage and tried her best, but still – there was not enough space for everyone to fit inside comfortably.

There were only two bedrooms with four beds in total to sleep on upstairs, one of them used by her and Leo. Two more sleeping places, or maybe even three, could be created downstairs in the room with the fireplace, using one spare mattress she found in the small attic, some furs and leathers, but since the room was not so big and filled with furniture, she still considered the barn to be more comfortable place to sleep in.

Naturally, she didn´t want to lose her privacy with Leo, so they would keep the smaller bedroom, while Cullen as the oldest, and Nick with Jack, who were still in recovery, could sleep in the next one. If Ryo and Koki agreed to occupy the living room, they were missing only two more…

Wondering if there was any way to solve it, Jane closed the window and headed to the stairway. Well, as for Jin and Kame, they could be satisfied as well if they ended up alone in the barn together. Jane highly doubted they would like to move their stuff into one room with Ryo and Koki, or into the big bedroom of Cullen and the others, even if there was a chance for that. And the nights were not so cold in overall anymore, especially not for… couples, so…

Jane sighed for herself, assuming it would be better to leave the discussion about it up to them. Or maybe she could ask those two in advance, it they would be content with the barn…

But first things first; it was the time to start preparations for dinner, because Leo asked her for something special as a reward for rescuing them. And since all the Riders were quite hungry creatures, she planned to make a proper feast, which would take quite a while.

*

Neither of the two newspapers - ´The Rocky Mountain Post´ or ´Daily Denver Gazette´, which the shopping party managed to snatch in Leadville, included anything interesting in particular. There was no mention of his capture or about the fate of Harvey and Sheriff´s gunmen. Leo figured it was too early for that, or they didn´t want to leak any specific information before his imprisonment would be sure.

There was an article about Horace Tabor though – he was about to be nominated into the Senate by his potential predecessor Henry Teller. After scanning the black lines, which were overfilled with the list of ´good deeds´ which the Lieutenant Governor did for Colorado and its population, disgusted Leo folded the papers down.

Of course, Tabor provided the financial support for many important buildings and establishments, but he didn´t do it for people – he was in it for more money and power. Not to mention that only the chosen ones were able to profit from it. The rest of Denver citizens, immigrants and common workers were just used by those above them. But naturally, the statement of that kind would not be published in any newspapers.

Leo tapped his fingers over Daily Gazette, frowning at the front article about more disorders in the north part of the state caused by Sioux Indians, but not actually seeing it. It would be only more annoying for them if Tabor really won the elections and became Senator.

"Anything special?"

He raised his eyes from the table to Cullen, who just climbed the steps to the veranda, wiping his hands with some dirty towel – he was probably done with their catches.

"Just the usual shit," the young leader replied gloomily. "Nothing specific about us."

The older Rider eyed him curiously, before he crossed the spacious porch and sat down opposite of Leo. Then he took a worn-out box from his pocket and lit a cigarette. Leo observed him for a while, but in the end, he didn´t resist.

"Mind if I have one?" he asked.

The older Rider raised his eyebrows: "I´d sooner expect your brother begging me for it," he said, but nevertheless pushed the box across the table to him.

Leo had also noticed that Jin was out of cigarettes already, but since he was probably still insulted by Cullen´s attitude, he didn´t ask for any.

"He´s too proud for that," he reacted with a short sigh, reaching for one of his rare sins and the matches. He felt Cullen´s look upon himself, but didn´t want to talk yet.

"How comes you´re sitting here?" Cullen asked. "Jane didn´t like your company in the kitchen?"

"She threw me out," Leo felt somehow better at the mention of the brunette´s name.

"Ah… You kept eating away from the preparations again?" the older man figured amusedly.

Leo just grinned. Of course he did; his lovely girlfriend´s cooking was irresistible at any time.

Both the young leader and his deputy kept smoking in silence for a few minutes. The sounds of the wood chopping and sawing could be heard from the back of the cottage, as Jack, Koki, Kame and Jin were preparing the pile of firewood for the planned barbecue. Nick and Ryo were holed up in the cellar, continuing the preparations of the meat, while Jane occupied the kitchen, busy with everything else.

All those guys had a special place in Leo´s heart, but from time to time he really enjoyed some true peace. There were not many opportunities like that, without the bunch of loud buddies around. It was so peaceful that it was almost a shame to ponder the unpleasant and difficult stuff…

"If you want to talk, just out with it," Cullen spoke suddenly. "I know something´s eating you."

The young Akanishi repaid the serious stare of his older companion. Cullen recognized there was something bothering him, as always.

"Yeah," he admitted heavily.

"You hesitate, right?" Cullen guessed. "You´re not sure what to do next."

Leo watched the smoke going up for a while, before he reacted soberly: "I know we all need some rest now. There´s been a lot of… everything lately, so we should stay here for a week, or two, maybe longer. Even if only to clear our heads… It´d have been stupid to embark on something now. Everybody is… too agitated."

Cullen nodded slowly, patiently listening to him: "I can only agree to that."

"But then… What about then? Should we continue? Should we stop?" Leo inhaled some deadly smoke again.

"You think Tabor is too big a trouble to deal with for us?" Cullen asked, quietly and calmly.

It didn´t take long before Leo nodded: "Yes," it was depressing to admit it, but relieving at the same time. "From our position, we cannot do much against him anymore."

"So, you want to give up?" the older man asked a little harshly.

"No," Leo reacted fiercely. "I don´t. It´s not like I´m scared, but… I don´t want to lose any more friends either."

"None of us want that, Leo," Cullen reacted in a very serious tone. "But we all chose this life knowing what´s packed up in the deal."

"Sure, but by ´this life´ anyone would imagine the outlaws, who care only about themselves and own profit. But we´re trying to help the others, to do something good," Leo needed Cullen to understand what he felt. He pondered their situation alone long enough. "And we have no reward for that, not counting the one on our heads... Originally, we just wanted to pay back to Tabor for what he did in Wyoming, but now… It´s like being at war with him – the war we cannot win."

Cullen frowned a little, thinking out Leo´s words: "So… you want us to be more selfish?"

"Exactly," he agreed right away, even though he wouldn´t be able to name it a few minutes ago.

"What´s on your mind, Leo?" his deputy asked, obviously very curious about what was going through their young leader´s head now.

"I want to talk about it with everyone, tonight, after dinner."

"You´ve already decided then," Cullen sighed, hearing the decisive tone.

Somehow, that statement pissed Leo off – what Cullen thought he was? A dictator? He never meant to force anyone to do what he wanted.

"No," he reacted coldly. "I may be your leader, but I don´t know what´s right to do now. I won´t decide for the others. I want everyone to consider our options and speak their opinion. We will do it together. Not I."

The older man repaid his upset look unwaveringly, and then he smiled: "Good to see you´re not as uncertain as I thought."

Only then Leo realized how much that short talk helped him to sort out his thoughts. Somewhat relieved, he put away the rest of the cigarette.

"Thanks, Cullen," he murmured without thinking.

"Not really," his satisfied deputy shook his head.

Suddenly, some loud voices were heard, which dragged their attention – the fuss was coming from the direction of the horses´ fence. They both stood up and approached the edge of veranda to see what was going on.

And Leo couldn´t help but start laughing loudly at that view – it was definitely something what pulled his mood even higher.

*

Under the different circumstances, Koki would have insisted that there was no one better at making jokes than himself. But in this case, he really didn´t mind that somebody else stole the spotlight of the most humorous personality around.

Both the white mare and the black stallion really returned from the little free ride as their masters said, though only in the late afternoon. The funny thing was that after a warm welcome with Kame, the mare entered the fence calmly and even received some brown sugar for it, but Akanishi´s horse was not so willing to go back to the limitations of his space.

When Leo´s brother approached the stallion to lead him there, Kuro jumped back away from him. Akanishi just laughed at that and went for him again, but even though the animal stood still until the last second, it retreated quickly, once its master was within the reach. After the third attempt, there was no trace of smile on the young gunslinger´s face. On the other hand, he, Jack and Kame were choking on a shared laughter.

The wordless ´fight´ turned into Akanishi chasing after the black stallion furiously, threatening the animal with hunger, while Kuro was graciously trotting there and back again, throwing his glossy mane and showing his teeth in something, about what Koki would swear was a smile. And when the stallion danced around his master and pushed the hat off his head cunningly, Koki had to grab Kame by the shoulder to keep himself standing.

That finally pissed Akanishi enough to screw the game of tag. He gave the laughing group a quite deadly glare and obviously offended left the field of battle. When the horse noticed his master was leaving, he watched him, waiting if he would come back. But Akanishi continued toward the barn without even glancing over his shoulder.

Kuro snorted softly and then ran after him. When he dashed right into his master´s way, Jin stared at him for a while, before he just walked around the animal. Now it was a reverse game, when Kuro was chasing after his master.

At that time also Leo, Cullen and Jane observed the scene from the veranda, obviously quite amused as well. Kuro was persistent, but his master was even more stubborn, and so he kept avoiding the horse. Koki had never seen a better comedy.

A short neigh interrupted the group at the fence and Kame turned to his mare with a mysterious smile. Then he let her go out from the fence again.

The mare trotted across the space toward the cottage, where the fight continued and suddenly blocked Akanishi from the other side. Now there were two animals standing in his way and Koki was close to wet himself with laughter.

*

Nobody moved for a while and then both Kuro and Ukushi started to push surprised Jin toward the fence. Now quite amazed, everyone stared at the animals using their big heads to force him to retreat step by step, until he was almost back where he started. Then Kuro nudged him so hard that Jin would have fallen, if there was not Kame right behind him, who helped the older one to regain his balance.

With his jaw dropped, Jin observed Kuro following Ukushi back inside the fence graciously, not even realizing that smiling Kame was holding him firmly for both arms. The black stallion was unpredictable sometimes, but he had never made such jokes on him as in the recent weeks.

"Are you all right?" the soft voice spoke in Jin´s ear, making him even more startled.

He turned to look in the amused brown eyes, realizing Kazuya´s closeness and forgetting his anger at the disobedient animal right away.

"Yeah… Just… He really managed to shock me this time," he murmured, stepping away from the younger one sooner than he would lose his self-control.

That warm presence was simply too distracting for him on that day. It felt like as soon as there was nothing serious to deal with, Kazuya was the only one taking up space on his mind.

Both the stallion and the mare were back among the other horses, grazing on the grass, pretending to be the innocence itself. Incredible…

"Well-trained, Jin," Ryo, who just came out of the cellar soon enough to see the finale and closed the opening behind both animals, patted Jin on the shoulder overly praising, while Koki was still choking, as well as Jack. "Really well."

Jin´s look would have made any small kid run away screaming, but his Rider-buddies just kept smirking. And Kuro, wanting to make a final dot behind their performance, gave out a cheerful neigh.

*

Their dinner that evening was in one word amazing. It definitely made up for missing lunch, since Jane didn´t let anyone enter the kitchen for half a day. Well, no one except Kame, whose offer for help was the only one accepted by the stubborn brunette. Jin wasn´t kicked off right away as well only because he brought some beer for the two cooks. But the reward for everyone´s waiting was more than sufficient.

Jack and Ryo dragged the table from the living room out to veranda and attached it to the one already occupying the place along with some chairs, so that everyone could sit there comfortably. Of course, that didn´t pass without complaints about the narrow door and kibitzing of their buddies, but in the end, they managed to put everything outside.

After that Kame and Jane started to carry the plates and bowls from the kitchen, under the eager eyes of all other Riders standing around with tankards of beer, except Nick, who was standing above the fire, taking the well-done steaks away from the simple grill. Already the raw meat from a young elk in the special marinade, which was prepared by Kame, was tempting enough and once Nick had started to roast it above the hot embers, the Riders tottered around the campfire sniffing like dogs. Both tables were almost not enough for everything what was prepared for their ´special reward dinner´.

The hungry Riders eyed two bowls of roasted potatoes and one of potato mash with fried onions and bacon, a loaf of fresh corn bread, a couple of boiled eggs and even ham cut into thin slices. These main courses were accompanied by full plates of pickled beets, last year carrots and peas. And the peak of the feast – Jane´s pies with stewed fruits and pudding. As the taste of the brunette´s baking was already known to them, Koki almost started drooling at his yet empty plate noticing it.

Once Nick divided his part of the cooking among everyone, they pounced on those meals, which had irresistible scent, like a pack of wolves. The steaks were juicy, and all side dishes completed them perfectly. And as for the pies, everybody agreed with Koki´s statement that they were literally divine. The flatters on all three cooks were heard between the bites nonstop, making them smile contentedly and kind of amusedly.

The Riders enjoyed the deserved feast as no other meal in a long time and with their stomachs full and with tankards of another round of cool liquid in their hands, gathered around the cheerfully beaming campfire, either taking places at the short wooden blocks or at the bench they moved there from the veranda.

*

Ryo couldn´t get enough of that peaceful atmosphere. In comparison with what they went through so far, it felt almost too good to rest and have fun. Though, for that evening there were also some serious matters hanging in the air, as he could see on their leader´s face. Leo had something on his mind what he wanted to discuss, but he waited with it for after the dinner time. Ryo was not the only one noticing it, also the others were kind of taciturn, excluding Koki of course, who just couldn´t shut up about how greatly he overstuffed himself.

Their leader waited until also Kame and Jack joined them, as they volunteered for washing the dishes, and took their seats – Jack with a relieved sigh next to Jane, who ruffled the youngster´s hair appreciatively and Kame on the log next to Jin, who forced the tankard of beer into his hands, outrunning Koki that way, with a satisfied smirk.

Leo withdrew with his hand from the pleasant place around Jane´s waist to lean forward, closer to the warm light of the fire. He didn´t need to say a single word and everybody focused their eyes on him in silent expectation.

"So, I have a proposal…" Leo started slowly.

"Finally!" Koki exclaimed enthusiastically as if he waited for nothing else. "Jane, you must say ´yes´!"

His leader pierced him with a sharp stare, while the others laughed.

"Not that kind of proposal," Leo clarified his statement. "Yet," he added glancing at his girlfriend rather hesitantly, but Jane was just smiling at him.

"Such a shame… I wanted to be your best man," the blonde one complained.

"You´re just eager for another opportunity to stuff yourself," Ryo corrected him mockingly.

Another amused laugh cheered the atmosphere up and Leo relaxed, too. Ryo smirked at his blonde companion and Koki repaid it back. Their plan to chase that useless tension out of their leader worked out well.

"So… I was thinking… And no, it wasn´t about the wedding," Leo emphasized noticing Koki taking a breath for another remark. "But about how to make up for our missing funds."

"And about how to poke Tabor in the eyes at the same time, right?" Ryo noted in a dark tone.

"Yeah, something like that," their leader admitted. "Our previous informant mentioned once that the Governor doesn´t deposit all his money in the bank, but he keeps most of them in a private safe, along with the property deeds in his office in the Brown Palace Hotel. If that´s still true, we might use it to our advantage."

Cullen nodded slowly to that: "It would be safer than to try the bank itself. We´ve already checked the one in Denver, remember? It´s too well guarded."

"Exactly," Leo reacted. "Not to mention we´ve never really been into banks much," the young leader glanced at his brother and his friend, who were watching him with kind of careful expressions.

"But don´t we need a combination to get into a safe like that?" Kame asked seriously, making Leo feel kind of relieved, though he couldn´t explain why.

"Yes, we do. That´s why we´re going to meet our dear Governor."

"And cut a few of his fingers or something?" Koki proposed innocently.

"I´d definitely enjoy that," Ryo joined him. "His ears would be fine as well…"

"Aren´t you a little sadistic, guys?" Jack frowned.

"He deserves even worse," Cullen snorted.

"But… We don´t… torture people," the youngest Rider objected, a little alarmed. "It´d be more… proper to just shoot him, right?"

"We can´t do that, kid," the oldest Rider replied, while both Ryo and Koki frowned discontentedly, but didn´t object anything.

"I´m not saying I don´t want to," Leo spoke again darkly, gaining the murmurs of agreement from the two ´sadists´. "But he´s the Lieutenant Governor, even a candidate for the Senate membership now – we´d have ended up being hunted by every soldier and Marshal in Colorado. And I don´t want to see any of you on the gallows."

A short silence made everyone remember those whom they had already lost fighting against the powerful man.

"We´re not going to kill him, but still – we can make quite a lot of troubles for him with that theft," Leo continued, trying to be more positive.

"And we´ll always be all in for that, you can bet," Ryo stated firmly. "I take any chance with which we can repay him for… everyone. Even a small one."

"Me too," Koki nodded decidedly as well and drank the rest of his beer in one go.

Nick agreed right after him and Cullen didn´t need to say anything, just one look from him was enough. Jack didn´t seem to be so persuaded, but nodded anyway, and Jane was keeping one of her hands on Leo´s thigh lightly, so he didn´t even need to look at her to know, she was on his side in this. He didn´t know what to expect from the two newest members though…

"I´m in, too," Jin said slowly as the first. "Somebody must watch over you not to do anything foolish again, Bro."

"You´re the one to talk, Akanishi," Cullen chipped in caustically, making Koki chuckle and Jin frown. Leo moved his eyes to the last member of the gang, who kept looking in the flames for a while.

"Isn´t provoking Tabor like that almost the same as killing him?" Kame stated in the end, finally returning Leo´s look. "I don´t know much about that man yet, but if we do this, he´ll send more bounty hunters and soldiers after us all the same."

"So, you think we should do nothing, Kame?" Ryo bristled, before Leo could respond. "Someone else might have pulled the trigger, but the death of our friends and of our previous leader, that´s his job. We just want some justice."

"No, you want vengeance," Kame corrected him in a voice, which brought chills on Leo´s back; when his brother´s best friend talked it was always directly to the point. "And I know how it feels like, believe me. But it´s not good to act if you´re blinded with anger or grief."

"It´s easy for you to talk like that, Handsome," Koki murmured gloomily.

"No, he´s right," Leo admitted quietly.

"But Leo, we have the right to…!" Ryo burst out fiercely.

"I know," his leader interrupted him promptly. "None of us want to let Tabor get away from what he had done to us without payback. I know you all feel that way."

No objection was heard this time; the serious faces around the fire confirmed that statement even without words.

"Kame, you speak wisely," the Rider´s leader continued, looking directly at serious Kame. "I´m aware of the risk, which we´re going to face, but neither I nor the others can let this go. It has gone too far for that. I need to know if you´re with us or not."

Everybody was looking at Kamenashi now and it seemed that Jin almost didn´t breathe until the young man nodded seriously: "Of course I am, Leo. I joined you guys once, and I´m not going to back off from that. I just wanted you to know what I think."

"And I´m glad you´re honest," Leo reacted appreciatively. "It has been difficult for all of us recently. So, we will take our time. We´ll get Tabor one way or another, but we aren´t going to do this right now. I was thinking that we might spend some time here. Let´s keep a low profile; let´s make Tabor think we´re scared and hiding. And only then we will strike again."

"When is then?" Jack asked for everyone. "When are we going to do this?"

"What do you suggest? I´m listening…" Leo prompted everyone. "Two weeks? Three?"

"Honestly? I feel for a year-long vacation," Ryo replied, trying to ease the tension from the heavy discussion. "But still – it would be boring to wait for that long. I think three weeks are just fine, maybe a month."

"The weather will be more stable then, too. It will be more comfortable to travel," Nick noted in a calm voice.

"That´s right," Cullen nodded. "I´m for some rest as well."

Leo looked at Kame again: "Will it be enough for Nick to recover?" he asked.

"You mean for the riding? Yes, even two weeks should be enough," Kame assumed. "And Jack is already just fine, as far as I can tell."

The youngest Rider grinned and nodded: "I´m even better than before!" he declared bravely.

"Strange I didn´t notice that," Jane noted, in pretended astonishment.

"Jaaane…" Jack pouted indignantly.

The stiffed laughter around the fire made Leo feel much better than before the whole conversation started. They were all on the same boat and they were not going to sink so easily…

"Good, I´m definitely going to need your energy later, Jack," he grinned at the youngster. "All right, a month then, guys. We have time to think this through, to check on the situation in Denver in advance and figure out a plan. Any other objections or questions?" Leo asked in conclusion, eyeing everyone gathered.

"I have a proposal now," Koki got up waving with his empty tankard. "Enough of serious talk, Chief. I think I´ve heard a ´vacation´ somewhere in that awful amount of your words, so… Another round?"

On that, Leo´s face brightened up with a wide smile: "I was going to say exactly that."